ABC
by half-breedMiralian
Summary: Several drabbles for each letter of the alphabet. AgitoxYayoi centered. Rated T for language and suggestive themes. HIATUS
1. A

**Author's Note: **This project is gonna take me forever, I'm guessing. It's going to be a bunch of ABC drabbles, but there will be several of one letter with each chapter. So the next chapter will have several B's, then next, several C's, etc. You get what I'm saying, yeah? They won't be this long, though. Don't get used to it. This is just a trial run, m'kay? Thanks for the support.

**Apples**

It was red, bright, and possibly poisoned. He just knew it. But against his better judgment (and against Akito and Lind's warnings, just to be rebellious), he took it from the girl's hand, just as the rest of his teammates had done.

Yayoi smiled sweetly. "Now, then, boys, I want you to think about what you all have done."

They were all confused, or perhaps they were acting innocent, but Agito knew he wasn't guilty of whatever crimes the others had done. Shrugging, he started to step out of line, but a sharp "stop!" made him change his mind. That, and the fact that Emily had an arrow drawn back in a bow, ready to fire. Cursing, he straightened himself out.

"You may not quite remember what you did," Yayoi hissed as Ringo circled with another bow and arrow. "But that's alright. So as payment, you're going to help us."

"Listen," Ikki said, trying to smooth things over. "If this is one of your cooking experiments, we're not ready to die. We're sorry for whatever we did, and if you'll let us all live to see another day, we'll make it up to you…eventually."

Emily chuckled darkly. "No, no, silly. Those apples aren't for eating; they're targets. We have an archery contest to practice for, and since you guys aren't busy…"

Actually, they had been busy practicing, but perhaps it wasn't the best to mention this to three angry young women with lethal weapons in their hands.

"…You can help us," Ringo finished. "Apples up on your heads, please." When none of them moved, she unleashed her killer aura that only a Storm Rider Queen could unleash. "Apples _up_!"

All apples went up to balance atop their heads, Agito's more slowly than the others; his mind was racing to figure out what he had done wrong. He had never seen them do archery before, let alone heard of an upcoming contest. The bows were drawn, menacing looks in each wielder's eyes. _Fuck…_

**Alone**

He let her release her emotions like she needed to. He stood by and watched, waiting for her to tire herself out.

The death of her father had come as a shock to her, and when she had gotten home from school, she had sat down on the couch, blank expression in place. And then she'd snapped.

Now she was screaming, tearing at anything she could get her hands on. She threw things, smashed things, sounding like a wounded animal, and in a way, she was. She was probably one of the few people on Kogarasumaru who had a normal life, a normal family. There were no tears from her, though. Only anger.

Agito wordlessly kicked off the Fang Regalia, ignoring Lind's questioning touch in his mind, and shoved them across the floor; they lightly hit her feet.

Her head snapped down, mouth twisted in a snarl, and she picked up the ATs and made to throw them at the untouched china cabinet. Then she jolted and brought her hands quickly back down and stared at the skates. Agito knew what she was realizing as she slumped to the wooden floor.

Now he moved, crossing the room quickly, and knelt beside her. The tears finally started to flow from her eyes and she buried her face in his shoulder with a sob.

"What?" Agito whispered in a hoarse voice. "What were you angry at?"

"I wasn't angry," the girl replied weakly. It was amazing that she was able to keep a steady voice. "I was scared."

"Of what?"

"Being alone." She shuddered, and her breath came out in a sigh as she tried to calm herself.

Agito pressed on, determined to show her. "What made you stop?"

Yayoi was silent. Then she murmured, "When I saw your skates…I knew I wasn't alone."

Agito nodded in satisfaction.

**Air**

She once mused what it would be like to have no air. She had instantly forbidden the thought from her mind. Not the air such as oxygen to breath, but no air such as the warm winds which blew through her bedroom, or the light breeze which would caress her face.

To have no air was like to have no oxygen, actually. And yet it wasn't.

She sighed as a warm breath of air laced through her hair.

**Ant**

"Did you know that an ant can carry more than ten times its own body weight?" Yayoi asked as she caught sight of one scurrying across the sidewalk with a leaf in its mandibles.

Agito looked at her. "Why the fuck would I want to know that?"

Yayoi shrugged. "Just saying." She didn't like the way the shark eyed her after that statement. Without warning, she was then pulled up into his arms. She looked at him in alarm. "What are you doing?"

A toothy grin. "I'm acting like an ant. I'm carrying more than then times my own body w-."

He never finished the word. A slap silenced him.

**Akito**

Agito loved Yayoi for endless reasons, but this was one of the more prominent ones: the girl was just as protective of Akito as he was.

He didn't know why, but she constantly wanted to look out for his younger personality. Yayoi didn't know why she did it either. She told Agito that she was being selfish, because, "If Akito got hurt, then you would be hurt too, and I don't want that. So I guess I'm just selfish."

All three Wanajima brothers knew that that was a complete lie.


	2. B

**Author's Note:** It may seem like these are being dished out fast, but the updates will be slower in the future. I'm a bit busy. Anyway, I forgot to mention that some of these are companions. Like "Breath" and "Beauty", "Baseball" and "Bat", and etc. Some will have more than two companions, but that's okay. It'll be this way through the series. I'll inform you which go with which. And these drabbles won't be in alphabetical order, as you can see.

**Bold**

He liked this side of her when they were alone. She was very open, very real.

_'Yeah, Agito,'_ Lind chuckled. _'Very open.'_

_'She's quite bold when you guys are alone,'_ Akito squeaked, blushing.

_'Fuck, this isn't a peep show,'_ Agito growled without malice. _'I never said you had to, or could watch.'_

_'Damn,'_ Lind growled, unable to find another way to express his feelings. _'Girl can be aggressive.'_

Agito ignored his brothers' comments as he kissed Yayoi deeply, who had straddled his hips and had her lithe hands entwined in his blue hair.

The shark pulled back slightly and murmured, "For the record, I like girls who can be bold once in a while."

Yayoi giggled softly and nuzzled his neck. "Are they teasing you?"

"Mmm," Agito replied, dragging his nose across her soft cheek and devouring her lips again.

**Breathe**

Their school held dances often. He had never gone to one before, but this time he'd made an exception. Kogarasumaru decided to meet at the school entrance before going in, and when Yayoi's car finally pulled up, Agito (with Akito's urging) went to the door and opened it for her.

It was at that moment that Agito Wanajima forgot how to breathe.

**Beautiful**

He offered his hand and swallowed quickly so as to calm his high-end nerves. Yayoi took it carefully and for a split second, Agito wondered why her hands were so soft when she was a Tuner, and he thought they were supposed to have calloused hands because they were working with tools all day, and…

_'Breathe,'_ Akito advised. _'You're losing focus.'_

Damn right he was losing focus. How could he not? This wasn't just the girl with the pigtails whose name he could never remember. This was a young woman, Yayoi Nakayama, who had shyly asked him to escort her to the school dance.

"How do I look?" the girl whispered. Agito didn't answer, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her face fall.

_'Agito!'_ Akito chided. _'What's wrong with you?'_

Agito didn't answer.

Later during the dance, he spotted her sitting at a table by herself, quietly sipping punch. He sighed and scratched his head before going over and sitting down next to her. She didn't even glance to him.

Alright, that was it. "Yayoi."

Her eyes snapped to look at his, mouth parted slightly.

Agito sighed again and leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "As answer to the previous question…" He struggled to force the unfamiliar words from his mouth. "…You look beautiful…" And then he was sitting straight in his chair, staring out at the dance floor.

He saw the brilliant smile the girl flashed him, and he tried to ignore her, but he couldn't ignore the light-hearted feeling he got when her lips brushed against his cheek. _Damn…_

**Beast**

She wasn't scared. Yes, he was fierce. Yes, he was dangerous, a killer, angry, proud, fierce, merciless…

He was a _beast_…but she didn't care. Because somehow, but some strange, God-given miracle, she had tamed him.

"I don't like that word," Agito grumbled. "You make me sound like I'm a wild dog that you made your pet."

"Nope," Yayoi said, kissing his cheek. "A wild _shark_."

**Buccha**

Buccha knew that the only to people in Kogarasumaru who had brains were he and Agito. They were of higher levels than the others (though Kazu was certainly getting there), and they were the better strategists. He knew this, and Agito knew this, even though the shark called him a "coffee colored hog".

Buccha shrugged off every insult—most of the time—because he knew that deep down—way, _way_ deep down—the shark respected him.

Somewhere deep down…Ah, now he wasn't so sure.

**Baseball**

It had been Ton-chan's idea to go see the game. The stadium was filled with roaring fans and the loud calls for "Hotdogs! Get your hotdogs here!"

Though Agito had been completely opposed to the idea, he eventually warmed up and was soon shouting along with the rest of the fans and Kogarasumaru. Yayoi grinned when she saw the boy's eye sparkle with excitement at the homerun the next player hit.

She turned to eat her hotdog and was startled by a loud roar that went up in the section they were in.

Apparently the homerun ball had landed in their area; right in Agito's open hands, in fact. The boy's grin stretched from ear to ear, and he made an elated noise, which quickly turned into a growl when Ikki tried to steal the prize.

A new ball was produced down on the field and the game continued. Agito turned to Yayoi, his one eye shining with uncontained excitement, and then Yayoi laughed when he cleared his throat embarrassedly and looked at his feet.

"Hey," she said. He looked up. "S'okay to enjoy the moment."

Agito raised an eyebrow, but his smile was back. Perhaps he could let go for the day and enjoy the game. Yayoi giggled and turned her eyes back to the field. Perhaps they ought to go to baseball games more often.

**Bat**

The home team had won and now they were all celebrating. Agito stretched as they walked through the upper ring of the stadium and sighed, feeling more relaxed than he had since…well, since a long time ago.

"So it was fun, then?"

He turned to Yayoi, who sipped on her large drink. "Fuck, I don't believe in fun," he snapped, quickly reverting back to his usual mood. When the girl took a long, thoughtful-looking swig, he sighed. "Maybe."

She grinned, and then shrieked. Agito's eye widened as Onigiri put his hands up in defense. "It was a victory touch," the pale pig insisted, but Agito wasn't listening.

He whipped out his wallet and went to one of the stands which were selling merchandise for the game. A minute later and he had a wooden bat in his hands and a lethal look in his eyes. While Yayoi was still yelling at Onigiri and he was still protesting and _still trying to grope her_, Agito approached.

When the pig finally turned and saw Agito, the shark whispered, "We're having bacon tonight."

And he swung.

**Baby**

She just looked so right sitting with that child in her arms. Like a mother.

Agito had come over with the intention of teaching her more about the job of a Tuner, he had found her sitting on the couch, cooing to a small, white bundle.

"What the f-"

"Shush! Don't swear in front of the baby."

Agito blinked, though he heard his brothers cracking up in his head. Had he, the _Fang King_, just been shushed? Taking a deep breath, he asked, "What the _heck_ is that thing you're holding?"

"It's a _baby_," Yayoi sniffed disdainfully. "My cousin. I forgot that I was supposed to baby sit while my aunt went downtown with Mom and Dad. Sorry."

Hell, she didn't sound the least bit sorry! But Agito had decided to stay and keep her company (he insisted that it was Akito's idea). They spent the afternoon playing with the young child.

At one point, when Yayoi set him on the floor, the baby crawled to Agito. The shark, unsure of what to do, leaned down to stare at the little thing, and small hands tugged his eye patch. Agito blinked before a small smile found its way across his face. Gently, he picked up the child and stood, handing it back to Yayoi. The girl smiled and moved over, inviting the shark to sit down. He did, and was surprised when Yayoi put the baby back in his arms.

The little child gurgled delightedly and reached up, yanking on a long strand of his long hair. Agito winced, but after extracting his hair from the baby's hands, shifted so that he was lying comfortably in the shark's arms. The small boy made a little cooing noise and its eyes drooped closed.

Agito felt a head on his shoulder and he looked to see Yayoi resting against him. She, too, had closed her eyes. _Fuck,_ he thought silently, but he made no move to wake the girl. Instead, he scooted closer to Yayoi, checked to make sure that he was holding the child firmly, and tucked the girl's head under his chin.

When Yayoi's parents and her aunt returned home, they found not two, but three beings sleeping on the couch. With a small smile, Mrs. Nakayama carefully took the sleeping child and covered the other two.

Yayoi, when she heard the adults leave the room, laughed lightly to herself and snuggled closer to her shark.

**Blush**

She thought it was adorable when the slightest pale pink would grace his face. It was out of character for him, but it was still adorable.

He didn't like it. He thought that it made him weak. But his mind was always quickly changed when she would shift closer to him and press her lips to his cheek.

**Blood**

He'd tasted blood many times before and thought nothing of it. This time was different, though. It was her blood. He had been right by her side, laughing, when the car came. And it was her blood which had dotted his face and clothes now.

He had never hated the taste of blood so much.

In the hospital, he waited quietly, anxiously, like the rest of the team. And when the doctor came to them without an I'm-so-sorry look on her face, he darted to the window and looked inside.

There she was, looking scratched up and pale, but she was breathing. Her chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm, completely opposite to Agito's, whose chest was moving rapidly from the pounding of his heart.

There, hanging from a pole next to her bed, was an IV, red with the liquid it was sending into the girl's veins.

He had never loved the sight of blood so much.


	3. C

**Author's Note:** Okay, the companions in this are: "Cat" and "Collar"; "Cards" and "Chocolate"; "Crazed", "Child", and "Cry" (set in the future); "Calm" and "Chaos". I think the C's are a bit too sappy for my liking, but then again, I did write them. Sorry if Agito's OOC. Thanks for reading.

**Cat**

Jealous? Of a stupid little animal like that? Hell no! So what if she constantly talked about the little fur ball? So what if she would feed the thing in his presence when he was trying to explain the importance of a tuner? So _what_ if she cuddled it and pressed butterfly kisses—kisses that should be his, dammit!—to its nose and whisper sweet things to it?

He wasn't jealous! "So just shut the fuck up. I'm not."

"Oh, c'mon," Yayoi huffed, stroking the cat's head. "I don't understand why you hate him so much."

"Cause it's a fucking nuisance!" Agito snapped. "You're spending all your time cooing to that stupid thing, and you're not even taking notes."

"I have a good memory," Yayoi replied, seeming to grow irritated. "I don't see what your problem is."

"My problem is that fucking cat!" Agito growled. "Why don't you just let it go? Thought you said it was a stray."

"But my parents said I could keep it," Yayoi protested. "We searched for its owner and since no one claimed it, they said I could keep it."

"So get it a collar and let it out of the house so that you won't have to worry about it."

Yayoi seemed a bit troubled at this mention and looked down embarrassedly. "I…I can't buy the collar."

Agito's eye narrowed and he felt his agitation grow. "And why not?"

"I…I don't have any more money."

That did it. "And why the fuck not? So you went and spent it somewhere else on something? Probably on all of that damn cat food, I bet. Not only that, but did you even buy the tools I told you to get? How the hell are you gonna tune the Fang Regalia without them? Get rid of that cat and start saving up!"

He knew he had gone too far in an instant when he saw her let go of the animal. Her eyes were shining with tears that she clearly didn't want him to see. Wordlessly, she pointed to a large plastic bag sitting on the couch and ran upstairs. A second later, a door slammed.

The guilt was barely noticeable at first, but then it hit him full strength when the cat came to nuzzle his leg. With a heavy sigh, he went over to the bag the girl had pointed to and looked inside.

_'Wow,'_ Lind said, no humor in his voice. _'You really are an asshole.'_

Inside it was every single piece of equipment he had instructed her to get. On top of it all was the list he had made for her, neatly divided into categories. Each piece he had listed had been crossed off by her, and even the pieces he had labeled as optional were crossed off too.

_'You've really screwed things up.'_

Agito was shocked to hear Akito's cold tone. But he didn't disagree with his younger brother. He had to fix it. He then swallowed his pride and grudgingly asked, _'What should I do?'_

**Collar**

She had heard him leave, so she just curled back up on her bed, tears still falling. _Fine, jerk._ Why was he always so disagreeable? He didn't even bother to listen to her side of the story. _I can't buy a stupid collar because I spent all of my money on your stupid stuff!_

Ah, what the heck. She was too tired to be angry. Her eyes closed and sleep overtook her quickly.

She didn't quite know how long she had slept, because the sun was still shining brightly. But what had woke her up? There it was again. That scratching noise. And then a soft _meow._

"Oh," she muttered softly, getting up and going to her door. "Sorry, kitty." She opened it and the cat slinking in playfully, tail flicking back and forth. Its bell which hung from its black collar jingled slightly from around its neck as it jumped up onto the bed.

_Collar?_

She rushed to the cat and carefully lifted its head to get a good look. Yes, that was indeed a collar. And a bell. She whirled about and looked to her doorway. There he was. "You…"

Agito shook his head. "Don't even think of talking, because whatever you're gonna say, I don't want to hear it."

Yayoi frowned. Her anger was coming back now. "You jerk…"

"Don't. Let me speak." Now that she thought about it, he did look very uncomfortable. "I…apologize. I didn't realize that you…I didn't even let you speak…" The cat on the bed meowed loudly and Agito seemed to jolt. "That's the best you'll get out of my mouth. You were still letting yourself be monopolized by that fur ball."

Yayoi blinked several times before sighing. Yes, that was probably the best apology she'd ever hear from the boy. "Okay, sure."

Agito nodded and made a clicking noise with his tongue. The cat leapt off the bed and dashed to his legs, rubbing up against them enthusiastically. Yayoi raised an eyebrow when the animal and the boy shared a strange look. "Beat it," Agito said, jerking his head towards the hallway. The cat scampered away.

Turning his golden eye to Yayoi, Agito shut the door and crossed the small room in a second. Yayoi jerked, unsure of what to do. "What?"

"I said that was the best you'll get out of my mouth," Agito purred. Yayoi shivered before his lips captured hers. When he pulled back, he murmured, "That doesn't mean that I was done apologizing."

_Oh…_

**Crown**

He was a King. Certainly not the only one. But he was King of the Bloody Road. In some ways, the Fang Regalia was like his crown. And every time he fought with them, he felt like a king. Yet he still felt like something was missing.

So whenever he was with Yayoi, he wondered why he felt complete. He just never knew that he didn't need the Regalia as a crown to be her king.

**Catch**

"Okay? I'm gonna throw it!" Yayoi called. She carefully calculated the distance between her and her partner, and then tossed it.

Agito reached for the white object and almost had it within his grasp, and…

"Oi! Agito!"

_Shit!_ The object slipped through his fingers and smacked down onto his ATs, releasing its yellow contents. The shark shot Ikki a fierce glare, who merely looked guiltily away, and then looked down somewhat mournfully at his skates. Then he glanced at Yayoi who had come to his side, and said, "Next time, we use a regular ball, not eggs."

**Cold**

He sneezed and cursed again. "Fuck!"

"You know," Yayoi suggested, handing him a bowl of chicken noodle soup, "if you weren't the one who got the cold, then why don't you just switch with Akito?"

"Because he's a wimp when it comes to pain." He sneezed again and said, "But he definitely is an idiot for not listening to me. I _told_ him to go inside and not play in the snow for so long without proper equipment. Damn it."

"Just switch with him," Yayoi huffed. "He won't be in pain when it comes to a measly cold."

Agito shook his head, but when he sneezed twice in a row, he seriously contemplated Yayoi's suggestion.

**Cards**

They had gathered for cards that night and each one was high in spirits, believing that he or she would win the game. It hadn't quite turned out as they had planned, though.

It wasn't because she had skill that she had won. It was pure, dumb luck. And so, each thing they had brought went to her. They had decided to bet food, because they honestly didn't have anything else to wager. Akito had brought a box of chocolates, but apparently had forgotten to mention that they were Agito's secret stash. Said shark slept through the entire game.

But the scent of his chocolates being opened sure seemed to wake him. So when he saw _his_ precious sweets being popped into the girl's mouth, he screamed in rage and had switched with Akito. Then he'd demanded where she'd gotten them from, and when he was told, he turned his rage onto his younger brother. It was too late though.

The prize belonged to Yayoi, and he couldn't take it from her. She had won it fair and square. But that didn't mean he could try to get it back.

**Chocolate**

She popped another one into her mouth and practically melted at the rich, creamy taste which flooded her senses. "Mmm…I can see why you love these so much."

Next to her, Agito looked quite unhappy. "Nakayama…"

"Nope." She continued to walk down the darkening street. "It's my prize."

"It wasn't even Akito's to wager in the first place!" Agito growled. He wasn't sure why the girl was feeling so selfish at this time of all times. "Alright," he said, panicking when he saw her eat another one of his precious sweets. "What do you want from me?"

She stopped walking and thought a moment. Then a coy smile found its way across her face and she said, "A kiss."

"No." He refused flat out. He wouldn't lower himself to that level.

She ate another one.

"Okay," Agito said quickly, and he kissed her.

Yayoi gasped in surprise, and Agito's tongue swiped against hers. The sweet taste of chocolate filled his mouth and he grinned against the girl's lips. Moments later, he pulled back and licked his lips before chuckling. "Not bad."

Yayoi looked stunned. Then she smirked and ate another piece of the candy. "Care to try again?"

Agito looked down the street both ways to check if they were alone. Then he cocked an eyebrow and replied, "Fuck." And he kissed her again.

**Crazed**

"You bastard!" she screeched, her hand practically crushing his own. "I'll never let you touch me again!" Then another scream fell from her lips.

"One more, ma'am," the nurse urged through her mask. "Push!"

"_Fuuuck!_" Yayoi cried, using her husband's favorite word.

Agito laughed at her and she let go of his hand and grabbed his collar, dragging his surprised face down to meet hers. "You think that this is funny? I'll kill you! I am _never_ climbing into a bed with you again!"

Damn, that crazed look in her eyes was enough to send him cackling again, but he winced when her next scream nearly blew out his eardrums.

**Child**

"My sweet child," she cooed, rocking her new son in her weak arms.

Agito brushed back some of her damp hair which clung to her sweaty face and grinned viciously. "Now what was that nonsense you were screaming to me during the birthing?"

Yayoi glared at him. "I'm still contemplating whether or not I should follow through on my threats." The baby made a soft noise and she directed her attention to her child once more.

Agito stared at the two for a moment, taking in the picture. Then he leaned down and brushed a light kiss against his wife's face. "He's beautiful."

Yayoi smiled. Such words did not come often from the man's lips, so he must have meant it. "I know. But he's still nameless. Any ideas?"

"How about…"

**Cry**

"Damn." That one word had already been uttered two other times that night. Agito rolled over at the sound of his son's wailing and checked the clock. Five o' seven a.m.

He looked over at his wife who still seemed to be sleeping. "Yayoi…"

"Your turn," she said promptly, her voice leaving no room for argument.

The Fang King groaned softly and got up to tend to their son. Sometimes he felt like _he_ wanted to cry.

**Calm**

It was times like this. She just knew it. It was times like this that she loved the most in her life. This peace, when her boyfriend wasn't busy battling other teams with the rest of Kogarasumaru, and when she wasn't busy tuning his Regalia. When there was no trouble, just this lovely sense of calm.

She looked down at the sleeping face in her lap and gently stroked the soft blue hair. "Why can't it always be so peaceful?"

"Because then life wouldn't be so much fun without a little chaos."

She gasped a bit and looked down at the golden eye which stared back at her. Then she nodded. "Guess you're right."

"Course I am," Agito sniffed.

**Chaos**

A douse of cold water caused them to spring to their feet, dripping. Agito saw Ikki running away, a hose in his hand. The Fang King roared and went after him, sending a Fang his way.

Ikki defended himself against the onslaught of attacks and the rest of Kogarasumaru tried to help him by tossing water balloons into the fray, only to have the angry shark turn on them.

Yayoi giggled and leaned back against the tree. Yes, he'd been right. A bit of chaos was alright once in a while.

Her mind was soon to be changed when the crow turned the dripping hose her way.


	4. D

**Author's Note:** The last one isn't as depressing as you think it is. Companions are as follows: "Dear", "Darling", and "Daydream". "Dance" is kind of dirty, so be nice. The description for "ABC" _did_ say that there would be some suggestive themes. No complaining. If you don't like it, then skip over it.

**Dear**

"What did you just call me?"

Yayoi blinked as she tried to spoon the baby food into her cousin's mouth. She hadn't meant to. It had just sort of…slipped out. She had gotten so into the moment of taking care of the child that she had suddenly said, "Dear, would you get a napkin for Yoshi?"

And then he had said that. And so here they were. Agito set down his Boss coffee and glared at her. "Did you just call me '_dear'_?"

"S-sorry," Yayoi stammered. "I didn't mean it. I was…role playing?" Even she didn't sound convinced. Then she sighed. "Sorry," she repeated. "I have no real excuse."

"Just pick a better name."

She was astonished. "What?"

He wasn't looking at her. In fact, he had turned his entire chair around so that he wouldn't have to face her. "Pick a different nickname. 'Dear' sounds too sappy."

Yayoi stared at him, but the baby giggled and demanded her attention again. _Another name, huh?_ She laughed to herself. _Well, how about…_

**Darling**

"Hell, no." Agito ignored the pouting look on his girlfriend's face and took a swig of his drink. "None of that stupid shit that married couples use."

"Oh." Quiet disappointment. "You don't like those kinds of names?"

"We're too young for those names right now. We're just high school students." His voice sounded rough. He could feel Yayoi peering at him and he turned even more to hide his pink face.

"So you don't want me to use those names while we're young like this?" Light footsteps. Then her face appeared in front of his and he jerked back. "What are you saying, Agito?"

Damn, she was starting to guess his intentions. "Fuck, I'm not saying anything." Dammit, she _giggled._ And as if the Fates couldn't be mocking him anymore, the baby behind him was laughing with the girl. He lifted his can to his lips in order to calm his nerves.

Yayoi's face suddenly grew serious and she whispered boldly, "Are you implying that I can use those terms if we get married when we're older?"

Agito had never choked on his own drink before, but hell, there was a first for everything, wasn't there? As he coughed violently and pounded his chest, he heard Yayoi go back over to the baby who had started up indecipherable babbling. After clearing his throat, Agito turned and saw that the girl was back to feeding her cousin. _Damn._

**Daydream**

He didn't honestly know. How would it feel to be married to Nakayama? He stared at her harder and tried to picture it. Yes…he could faintly see it. She would always have her hair up in those silly pigtails while cooking, and he'd probably be polishing his Fang Regalia (of course he'd still have them; he would _always_ be the Fang King). She'd be wearing…ah, let's see. An apron, because she was such a plain girl who seemed follow stereotypes once in a while, but he'd tell her that he didn't care, because she was still very unique. He'd probably be wearing something torn and beat up, having just come back from a battle with a few worthless small fry who were after his title. Blood…yes, there would be blood on his clothes because that was his Road, wasn't it? And he'd need a bit of water, or even better, Boss coffee, and he'd be so weary from the fight, and he'd say in a rough voice, "Darling, would you…?"

The proud Fang King jerked back to reality sharply when he realized what he'd accidentally said out loud. Yayoi was looking at him too, her expression unreadable. Agito angrily stood and went into her living room. _Damn, how could I be so fucking careless?_

_'It's okay to dream about your future once in a while,'_ Akito said kindly.

Agito shook his head as he dropped heavily onto the couch. _'Not me. Not with her. I couldn't…I don't…'_

_'Stop being a wuss,'_ Lind snapped. _'She's the one who will decide whether you deserve her or not. Don't be so cowardly.'_

Agito snarled silently and closed his eyes. One of the many disadvantages of sharing a body with others was that they could see his thoughts, his dreams, his fears… He dozed into what started off as a restless sleep, but Akito guided his mind to more pleasant dreams, ones with a plain girl with pigtails and warm, chocolate eyes.

Warm…

He jolted from his sleep. The warmth. It was still there. He looked down and saw the object of his dreams leaning comfortably against him. He wasn't sure if she was awake or not, but he soon got his answer.

"I guess 'darling' doesn't suit you after all," the girl sighed. Agito was silent and she continued, "It suits me more, right?" And she looked up hopefully.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he faintly heard Akito squealing and Lind complaining that Agito was getting too soft and mushy now that he had a girlfriend, but the shark didn't care.

Too busy kissing the girl he dreamt would be his future wife.

**Donut**

'_Never again,'_ Agito growled.

He felt Akito's pleading aura, but he ignored it as a warm, damp cloth wiped over his face. Yayoi snickered as she wiped at his mouth. "This must be _so_ embarrassing for you," she snickered.

Agito gritted his teeth as she continued to clean his face. "What the fuck ever," he muttered. "That's going to be the last fucking time I let him eat a powdered donut."

Such a scene it had caused. The youngest of the Wanajima brothers had switched with Agito to enjoy the sweet treat, but had forgotten that Agito had also been wearing his ATs. So the first few steps the boy took were his fatal mistake. The wheels slipped, the boy tipped forward, and when he landed on the pavement, the donut was smashed into his face. Somehow in the whole mayhem, the eye patch switched over.

Yayoi shook her head. "It's your fault for not taking off the ATs." Agito growled at her but she ignored him, and just to taunt him even more, she opened the box she had brought to share with the team and held out a jelly-filled treat. "Donut?"

**Dare**

The look in his eyes weren't good, and Agito opted to get up and leave, or blast him with a Fang should the idiot suggest something obscene. Ikki pursed his lips for a moment before asking, "Truth or Dare?"

Truth would probably make the fool ask him something obscene, and if he refused to answer, the others might hold him down and try to force him to talk. However, the dare could probably make him do something mortifying and embarrassing. _'I blame you for my problems,'_ he told Akito silently. The lighter half merely shrugged.

"…Truth," the shark finally bit out. He figured that he could always lie, right?

He was surprised when the crow didn't even hesitate to dish out the question. "Do you, or did you have anyone that you liked? And if so, who?"

_Shit._ "Filthy crow. That was two questions." But when he saw the other boy get ready to spring on him, he said quickly, "Forget the truth. Dare, dare, I pick dare."

"Run around Nakayama's house naked."

Such a blunt reply. Perhaps he should have taken the truth. But it was too late to go back, because the boys were already wrestling him out of his clothes and had kicked him out of the door. The boys were on the first floor, the girls upstairs.

From inside the house, there was some shouting, and the Agito heard a window slide open and Nakayama said, "Okay, what am I looking for?" She froze as she caught sight of Agito, and the shark paled as her eyes slowly traveled downward. A moment later (but it truly felt like an hour. _Just how long is she going to look?_Agito snapped mentally, face flushed), Yayoi slammed the window shut and there were screams and crashes from within the house.

When Agito was finally handed his clothes through the back door and was properly dressed, he went into the living room to find the crow bleeding profusely from a head wound, Emily still threatening to hit him, and Yayoi sitting on the couch, blushing profusely. She saw Agito and apologized quickly. "It's Ikki's fault anyway," she said. "Besides…" She coughed uncomfortably and said, "You have, ah, nothing to be ashamed of."

"Excuse me?" Agito found himself saying, ignoring Emily's giggles.

Yayoi shrugged, seeming to have found her courage, and said, "What I mean is that you're…well endowed."

Emily shrieked and was practically gasping for air as Ikki piped up. "But, hey, I'm better, right, Yayoi?" He waggled his eyebrows and Yayoi fixed her eyes on him.

She was silent for a minute, and then grinned. "Well, Ikki, I dunno. He's probably better than Kazu, so if Kazu's a bean, then that makes you a blade of grass."

A beat of silence. And then, to everyone's surprise it was Agito who roared with laughter, followed by the others.

Ikki deemed from that day forward (after he got over his embarrassment, which took about three days) that they wouldn't be playing Truth or Dare for a while.

**Dove**

It was most definitely the happiest day of his life. Well, it was supposed to be, anyway. He was married, for God's sake! Nothing could go wrong on this day, and at first nothing had. The ceremony had gone down without a hitch, and when the Fang Kind had pressed his lips against his Tuner's to seal the deal, the moment was pure bliss.

Kazu Mikura was his best man. Everyone had thought it would be Itsuki Minami, but the crow had only been the second choice. Ikki hadn't minded, actually. Agito had trained Kazu long ago when he was still the novice Flame King, so it was natural that they were closer.

The Flame King grinned at his old mentor as he went down the aisle, and he was surprised when Agito smirked back.

A while later, everyone was outside the church, rice in their hands, and the doors burst open and the bride and the groom came out hand in hand. They walked down the steps, Yayoi laughing as her friends and family pelted her and her new husband with rice, Agito merely grumbling good-naturedly about them wasting good food. And then Ikki did something that made Agito remember the second reason he didn't choose the crow as his best man.

He let the doves loose.

The birds hadn't been part of the original wedding plan when Emily and the Noyamano sisters had made arrangements. Ikki had decided to do it for a bit of fun. He chuckled when the couple's faces looked quite shocked, but then he practically busted his gut laughing when one of the doves dropped a white wedding present onto Agito's (rented) suit.

Agito looked down, his golden eyes (he had removed the eye patch at Akito's suggestion) widening in horror. "Yayoi," he practically whispered to the woman who was hugging her mother.

His wife turned to him smiling, and then she saw the white blob which stood out clearly on the black fabric. "_What_ is _that_?" she asked, and Agito gritted his teeth when she tried to suppress a giggle.

"A dove crapped on me," he muttered. Now Yayoi laughed. "It's not funny," he hissed, and he nearly attacked Ikki when the Kogarasumaru men roared with laughter.

Yayoi finally stopped her snickers and led her husband to the car. Her life would never be boring if she was married to this man. Now all she had to do was figure out how to stop him from killing Ikki at the reception party.

**Dance**

The music blared and the dance floor was hot. Yayoi knew a lot of things about Agito, but clearly she didn't know everything. Like now, for instance, she didn't have the slightest idea that the man could dance. And not a waltz or tango (though she wondered if he did know how to dance like that) or some other classical form. He knew how to club dance. And _damn_, was he good.

She hissed at his heated touch at her hips, grabbing at his hands and wrapping them tighter around her waist. This was one of the hottest clubs around, and Kogarasumaru had decided to drop in and give it a try. What a wonderful decision.

Agito grinned maliciously and dragged his tongue down the girl's neck, nipping at her shoulder. The moan that spilled from Nakayama's lips only made him grind harder, and she ground back. She turned and ran her hands down his chest, leaning forward to bite her boyfriend's ear. The shark groaned into her neck as she forced a leg between his own, practically giving him a lap dance while they were both standing up.

"So fucking _hot,_" Agito growled in her ear as they backed up on the lit up dance floor. "Dammit, Yayoi, I—!" He was rendered speechless as her slim leg pressed hard between his legs, and he nearly saw white because the friction was just _so_ good, and oh, _God…_

"Look," Yayoi panted, eyeing the small private booths that could be sectioned off from the rest of the club. The thick, dark curtains that hung over each little cove made them look more like a beast's lair, which seemed perfectly fitting for Agito, she thought, because he was a beast and—oh, just _what_ was he doing with his hands?

She didn't want to stop, so she pushed the both of them back to an unoccupied cove and wrenched the curtains shut, enveloping them in a neon green glow from the lights which pulsed overhead.

So much for dancing. But they both agreed that they'd definitely come back to this club another day.

**Death**

The funeral had ended long ago, but two figures still stood beneath the canvas canopy, staring mournfully at the closed coffin. The woman stood a few feet behind the man, wanting to give him some space.

Agito just gazed blankly at the intricate carvings of snakes and skulls on the lid of the coffin, done just the way his big brother, Kaito Wanajima, would have liked it. The sound of rain pelting the top of the canvas was something he was grateful for, because the silence would probably just make him feel worse.

Silence passed, and then he whispered, "I don't get it. I don't fucking get it." How could he have died so soon? And off-duty, too. Shot, mugged, robbed, whatever anyone wanted to call it. Agito finally felt the tears that he couldn't shed in front of his teammates well up in his eyes, and he nearly choked on his sob. "You bastard. You stupid, idiotic _bastard_…"

Yayoi decided that now was a good time to come to his side and she was right, because as soon as she touched his shoulder, he turned and buried his face in her neck, shuddering as he silently cried for his deceased brother. She hugged him fiercely, running a hand through his hair, wishing that she could give him more comfort, but knowing that this was the only bit she could give.

They stood there together until the rain finally died down. Agito carefully wiped the last of his tears and muttered "You didn't see anything" to Yayoi, drawing dry chuckles from both of them. Then he stepped forward and raised the coffin lid one last time. There was Kaito, his long, silver hair splayed across the black satin pillow, hands folded with the most peaceful look the shark had ever seen across his face. Agito carefully placed the two items he'd brought into the coffin: Kaito's favorite gun, and his signature whip.

Agito arranged the weapons neatly on either side of his brother, bent and placed a soft kiss to the man's forehead, and closed the lid. Then he picked up his umbrella, took Yayoi's hand, and together they made their way to the car.

"Rest in peace, you stupid bastard," Agito sighed, and Yayoi squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"_I'll miss you, you shitty maggot._"

The couple stopped abruptly and locked eyes. They had heard it, and they knew that the other had heard it. After a moment of only hearing rain patter on top of the umbrella, Yayoi smiled, turned, and bowed respectfully to where the coffin stood. She then nudged Agito.

The shark smiled softly and looked to where his brother, the Shinjuku Gator, rested peacefully, and he said, "I'll miss you too, Kaito."

And they continued on their way to the car, both unaware of a white haired man watching them from underneath the canopy, a gun cocked in one hand, a whip curled around the other, and a warm smile on his face.


	5. E

**Author's Note:** I'm being gracious and updating this quickly. So the first one's really weird and supernatural-ish, but I like it, so leave me alone. Companions: "Enthusiasm" and "Entertainment". I didn't quite like "Early" so much, but I'll leave the reviewing to you guys. Tell me if Agito's a bit too OOC. But I have to say, even if you think he is, I still loved it, so I won't care what you say, really. The last fic has nothing to do with Yayoi. Well, I did say that these drabbles would be AgitoxYayoi _centered_, not that the entire thing would be about them. Didn't I?

**End**

Two figures embraced each other happily, finally glad to be reunited once more. "It was lonely," the male admitted after a length of silence.

The female's laugh was like bells. "I missed you too."

They drew away and observed their friends who had come to visit the cemetery. They had all grown so much over the years, and time had clearly done little to wear away at them, and they all still had youthful looks in their eyes; there was still life in them yet. The warm sun beamed down on Kogarasumaru, as well as their two deceased comrades.

Yayoi watched Kazu and Emily Mikura set up a small blanket in front of the two graves; Buccha went back to the car to get the food and gifts they were to offer up to the dead; Ikki merely leaned back against the tree which shadowed the two headstones.

Agito snorted and jerked his head. "Look. Even the pig decided to show."

Yayoi looked and smiled as a tall, slim figure made his way to his friends. "You can hardly call Onigiri a pig now. He's really trimmed down." Her husband rolled his eyes but didn't comment.

Gradually, old comrades of the past began to drift towards Kogarasumaru, all hear to celebrate (instead of mourn, because they had both told their friends not to mourn them) the deaths of Agito and Yayoi Wanajima.

Yayoi and Agito drifted away from the growing crowd and alighted upon a small mausoleum that overlooked their headstones. They had died natural deaths, but they had also died young. Yayoi sighed and rested her head against the former Fang King's shoulder. "Well? How is it? You died before me. How's the afterlife?"

Agito shrugged. He had died two years before his wife, so he'd had enough time to explore. "You'd love it. Every day is like an adventure, and sometimes you can literally set off on an adventure if you know where to go. I've been on a few myself." He sighed a bit.

Yayoi looked at him. "You sound as if it wasn't that exciting."

"That's because you weren't there to share the moments with me."

Yayoi smirked. "Well, I'm here now."

Agito fondly placed a kiss on her head. "Yes, you are."

They turned their attention to their living friends just as Kazu stood up from his seat on the grass. He raised his glass of sake in a toast. "To our Fang King and his Tuner. May Agito's Bloody Road never be forgotten, and may Yayoi's fine mastery of tuning ATs be learned from." He turned to the gravestones and bowed. "We'll miss you. I hope you're happy over there. Yayoi's there to keep you in line again, Agito, so watch out."

A small chuckle rippled through the crowd and the Flame King sat back down next to his wife. Itsuki stood now, and there was a sudden hush. The Storm King walked over to the two graves and stared at them for a moment, before saying, "You were a bastard, Agito." Silence, and then he continued. "You were a cold-hearted jerk who had no regard for rules or restraint…and then you suddenly changed, certainly for better. You have Yayoi to thank for that. And…" His voice cracked and Kazu came to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder. That seemed to cause the man to focus. He cleared his throat and said softly, "And just as I am proud to call Kazu and Onigiri two of my closest friends, I am equally proud to call you the same: friend."

He raised his glass and waited for a second before saying, "May Agito and Yayoi rest in peace." A light suddenly gleamed in his eyes and he roared, "_Kogarasumaru!_"

Yayoi and Agito found them automatically responding with the rest of their friends in their trademark cry: "_Bu-crow!_ Crush! Kill! Destroy!"

And the graveyard suddenly erupted into a whirlwind of emotions; many were crying, others were laughing, and some were doing both. Several were going up to Ikki and clapping him on the back, while others went over to the two gravestones and affectionately brushed their hands against them.

Agito took Yayoi's hand and they jumped down to the ground and floated over to their gravestones. Yayoi heard a flapping of wings and looked up. A majestic black bird with an ivory-white beak alighted on her headstone. She smiled as Kuu gave a small caw and fixed a bright eye on her. "How have you been?" she cooed, reaching out for the creature. She was surprised when the bird nuzzled against her outstretched hand. She looked to Agito. "Animals can see us?"

The shark nodded, and then said, "That was quite the speech you gave."

Yayoi was confused, but when she heard Ikki reply, "You did help me rehearse it," her eyes widened and she looked up into the face of her leader, Itsuki Minami, who smiled and said to her, "How's it goin', Nakayama?"

She was speechless, but Agito wound an arm around her waist and said, "I don't know how he managed, but the bastard is somehow able to see us." She could only nod. "When he started visiting my grave, we found out."

Yayoi turned her eyes to Ikki in wonder, who shrugged. "I guess it's just because I'm the awesome Storm King. I'm too powerful for my own good."

Yayoi snorted; same old Ikki. She stepped forward away from Agito and hugged her former leader. The crow looked surprised for a moment, but then he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. "You'll visit us often?" Yayoi whispered in his ear.

"Nothing could stop me from coming," he replied, and that was just the right answer for Yayoi, because she knew that Ikki could keep his promises well. She stepped back and Agito held out his hand to Ikki. The crow shook it firmly and said, "And I thought that it'd be boring when you died, but now I see that it's almost the same."

Yayoi sighed happily and murmured, "Thank God that it's not the end."

Both men turned to her, the living and the non-living, smiles on their faces. "The end?" Agito asked, grinning in a way that sparked such hope and excitement in Yayoi's heart that it took everything she had to not burst into tears of joy. "Not even close. It's just the beginning of the rest of our lives."

**Empty**

His eyes were hollow. Blank. Yayoi bit her lip worriedly and stepped a little closer to Kazu, wondering if she'd need the boy to protect him from the shark if he went on a rampage. Tentatively, she called his name. "Agito?"

The golden eye snapped over to her, something akin to rage appearing in it, but then it was gone and it was blank again. Empty. As empty as the chocolate box he now held in his hands. "You," he whispered, and Yayoi now decided to hide behind Kazu, almost certain that she'd need his aid.

"I'm sorry," she just barely squeaked. "There was a note on it that said I could eat it, and I—"

"A note?" Agito said sharply. "Where?"

Yayoi produced the scrap of paper faster than one could utter "Tool Toul To", and the shark snatched it away faster than he could say "Fuck". His golden eye read the elegant scrawl over and over again before he slowly looked back at Yayoi. The girl shrank more than Kazu's shadow did when Akito and Agito first joined their team.

"Na-ka-ya-ma," Agito growled. "You have seen this handwriting before, haven't you?"

Come to think of it, Yayoi mused, the letters did look awfully familiar. Hesitantly, she nodded.

Agito decided to cut straight to the point. "Lind."

Yayoi would have smacked herself had she not been gripping Kazu's pants leg so tightly. Of course! She'd seen it loads of times when the eldest of the personalities had left her little gifts of her favorite brand of vegetable juice. He'd write a little note of encouragement on the can when she'd had a rough day; she remembered when Agito had become terribly jealous of the whole thing and had forbidden Lind from giving her any more juice.

Swallowing, Yayoi said, "I don't see what the problem is."

"I bought these," Agito hissed, causing her to flinch. Kazu, she noticed, had an odd smile on his face, but she didn't really think about it as she watched Agito throw the empty box into the garbage and practically slam the lid shut.

"I'm sorry I ate your chocolates," the girl whimpered immediately as the shark started towards her. "I didn't know."

Kazu sighed and decided that it was finally time to intervene. He held up a hand to stop Agito and said, "Yayoi, the chocolates were meant for you."

Agito glared heatedly at Kazu, but stayed silent. Yayoi looked back and forth between them. "Huh?"

"He had bought them with the intention of giving them to you, but Lind clearly found them and decided to piss him off," Kazu explained, helping her up and brushing off some imaginary dust from her shoulders. "I would know; I went with him to the store to help him pick out the chocolates. He knew which ones were your favorite, but he didn't want to go alone." A slight teasing edge had entered his voice and he smirked at the Fang King, who had suddenly decided that the wooden floor of the kitchen looked far more interesting than the two people before him.

Yayoi smiled. "Oh." Then she frowned. "But what were you so angry for?"

When Agito just stared mournfully at the trashcan, she looked at Kazu, who said with an eye-roll, "He was hoping that you'd share a few with him."

**Emily**

She knew when someone was in love. She was in love with Kazu, so she knew that Yayoi was undoubtedly in love with Agito. Though at first she hadn't quite liked the idea.

The Fang King was just plain rude, for starters. He was blunt and pointed out everyone's faults and ignored their strong points. It was like all he could see was their failures. He had a mouth. A very dirty one too. Nothing stopped him from swearing, and he didn't care who he swore at, whether it was to his own teammates or to his seniors in ATs. He had no respect for anyone; he thought that everyone should respect him. He was a major antisocial person. He never contributed any ideas to the team, never spoke at the meetings, didn't do anything to help them unless he was training them for a battle, and even then it was for his own gain. He didn't want to be on a team of "shitless weaklings" as he so colorfully put it.

At first, Emily had no idea why Yayoi was in love with him. But then she noticed the changes.

Yes, he was still rude. But instead of constantly pointing out a person's faults, he also started giving compliments. They were small and subtle, of course, but a small nod of approval or "Not bad" went a long way, especially with Kazu. His swearing was still there, yes, but he had stopped swearing almost ever single time he spoke. He didn't swear at or around Yayoi either. His respect…well, he still didn't give anyone any respect, though Emily did catch him holding doors for Yayoi or giving up his seat to her in the cafeteria at lunch time if the table was full. At the meetings, he actually spoke; more of that he had no problem in telling Ikki that his battle plans weren't "worth shit", and then he proceeded to give a strategy of his own, snapping at anyone who wasn't paying attention because it was "vital information and I don't want to waste it on some idiot who won't even listen".

So Emily gradually accepted that her best friend was in love with the shark, because she could see that Agito was undeniably in love with Yayoi too.

**Early**

He rolls over in bed with a groan, instantly realizing that the other side was growing cold. For a moment he doesn't care, but then he realizes that the other resident of the house is gone and he misses her warmth at once. He sits up, blinking sleepily, and then hears the shower running in their bathroom and relaxes.

Five minutes later the water shuts off, there's shuffling from inside the bathroom, and then the door opens and his wife steps out in only a towel, shrouded by a cloud of steam. "Why are you awake so early?" Agito asks, sinking back down into the bed.

"I fell asleep yesterday without taking a shower, and I decided to take one this morning," Yayoi replies, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Why?"

"I was working on the Fang Regalia. That last battle you had really put some strain on the gears, so I decided to take care of it in case you needed them again."

Agito reaches up and brushes some of her wet hair away from her eyes. "Thank you," he murmurs sincerely, and that's all he can think of to say because his wife is so amazing and wonderful, and he can't imagine being married to anyone else, or having someone else as his Tuner. He glances at the clock and sees that it's only five in the morning. Then he looks back at Yayoi, whose lips turn up in a small smile.

And he decides that he doesn't really want to go back to sleep because his wife smells so good right now and her skin is positively glowing, and he wonders if she would taste as good as she smells so he drags her down to his side and kisses her.

She responds eagerly because she's wide awake from the shower, and then gasps as he sucks the pulse point on her neck. "Aren't you tired?" she breathes as he kisses her collarbone.

"No," he chuckles, and reaches down to pull away her towel. He decides that he likes it when his wife wakes up early.

**Enthusiasm**

"Wanajima, you're supposed to be gazing lovingly at the prince, not scowling at him!"

Had he been wearing his ATs, he would have released a Fang at the director in a heartbeat. But he wasn't, so he couldn't. Instead, he directed his scowl to the man, who returned it equally.

Their class had decided to put on a play for the cultural festival, one written by a student in fact. It was a romance – everyone had thought the writer was a girl, but it turned out to be a _boy_ – but here was the twist: it was a gender swap. The male roles would be played by girls, and the female roles would be played by boys. They had voted on who was to be what part, and Agito was unfortunately asleep at the time. Akito had been in control of the body and had suggested that his darker half play the lead female role. Of course, the entire female population agreed and that was that. How Yayoi had gotten the lead male role was a mystery, but Agito saw that many girls were still sending scathing looks her way.

"Wanajima? Wanajima!"

He restrained himself from snapping at the director and merely said, "Yes?"

"Do the scene again," Mr. Fujiwara said, crossing his arms. "You look practically dead up on stage. You need expression. More enthusiasm. Now do it again."

Agito growled and looked begrudgingly over at Nakayama, who shrugged almost apologetically and then returned to one knee, back in character and ready to do the scene. The director nodded and she said, "My lady, I do not deserve such praise from you. It was my fault that such deceit was spawned and bred throughout the castle. I beg for your forgiveness." She looked up and Agito was astounded by the sincere intensity in her eyes.

_She's really getting into this, isn't she?_ he thought. He shrugged mentally and decided to go with it. "Not at all, my prince."

Yayoi was certain that her heart stopped at the tone in his voice. It was just so full of…admiration and…love? And she almost _died_ when one of his rough, calloused hands caressed her cheek. She stood as she was supposed to (she was wearing platform boots so that she would be taller than the boy, but she only stood an inch above him with them), and Agito continued. "Without you, my life would have been lost. Our kingdoms would have reverted back to the violent blood shed of the many years past. You have my gratitude."

Yayoi almost forgot her line, but Agito pinched her cheek quite hard and she quickly remembered. "Then, perhaps, may I have a token of your thanks?"

Agito's expression of confusion was so cute that she wanted to just hug him right then and there, but she restrained herself. "What kind of token?" the boy questioned softly, but it was loud enough to be heard by the director and the other actors who were all now gazing at the stage in anticipation.

Yayoi leaned forward and stopped a centimeter short of the shark's lips. "This kind." She breathed her line and almost closed the distance between their mouths…

Itsuki's feet slammed into Agito's side as the crow yelled, "Cut!" Agito skidded across the wooden stage and bounced back up, uninjured but very angry. "You bloody shark," Ikki growled. "This is what you've been ditching the meetings for? Some kissy face time with Nakayama? Not fair at all!"

"Can it, crow!" Agito snapped, striding over and grabbing the other's collar. "It's for the culture fest, you fucktard!"

"Yeah, well, I'm taking her with me," Ikki said. "She needs to help us plan our next strategy." And to prove his point, he grabbed Yayoi and slung her over his shoulder.

With that gesture, Agito roared and launched himself at the crow, who dropped Yayoi and skipped back to defend. As the actors were all chanting "Fight, fight, fight!" and Yayoi was slinking away to grab a drink of water, the director slumped down in his seat and rubbed his temple.

"Enthusiasm indeed," he muttered tiredly. He really needed a smoke.

**Entertainment**

"I think the dress suits you," Yayoi teased, looking the shark over.

"Shut up," Agito hissed. This getup reminded him too much of the time Akito had decided to put that stupid wedding dress on. A silvery robe draped over his body and covered his feet. It was especially long in the back so that it seemed like a silver pool rested on the floor behind him. A diamond choker was tied about his neck and he didn't wear his usual eye patch, oh _no_, because that just wouldn't do. Instead he wore a velvet black one that looked like it had been Bedazzled with silver jewels by some maniac fan girl on steroids.

"No, really," Yayoi laughed. "You look quite fetching. Someone might want to steal you away after the show and marry you."

"…Fuck," was all the boy managed to strangle out without screaming in frustration.

It was the day of the cultural festival, and they were the first live performance, and they would be followed by a talent show, fashion show, and ended with a Battle of the Bands.

When the curtains went up and the play started, every single girl in the audience squealed with delight at the sight of Agito in a dress. Kogarasumaru's howls of laughter were the loudest, despite the fact that they sat at the far back by the exit. The poor boy's face had a light dusting of makeup on it and many were surprised to find that he had a few curves at the waist that would make a girl jealous, and his wig was long and matched his hair, but none of the fake blue locks could conceal his embarrassed and angry blush. Yet somehow he was able to stay in character; he decided to release his frustration on some unsuspecting team later in the night.

Yayoi was just as much admired by the crowd as Agito was adored. She struck them as powerful and confident, strong and kind-hearted. Agito, from the wings, noticed a few of the boys eyeing her feminine curves appreciatively; even though she was playing a boy, the costume she wore accentuated her body. He shot them glares and they scurried away to prepare for their entrances.

The final scene came for the two to kiss, and Agito was just about fed up with every girl eyeing him, and every boy leering at Nakayama. He wanted them to know that he wasn't interested in them, and that he wasn't going to let some weak fool take Nakayama.

So when Yayoi uttered her line, "This kind," instead of waiting for her to kiss him, he grabbed the front of her costume and gently tugged her to him. The crowd gasped (most screamed) at the sudden lip lock the boy had initiated, and it set them off like a bomb. Was that in the script? Didn't he look a bit too eager? Wasn't Agito Wanajima known for being a major jerk and – oh my _God_, was that _tongue_?

At the back of the gym, their teammates sat openmouthed as the kiss lasted longer than the script called for, and the gym had now erupted into a frenzy. However, Ikki was the only one who was the least surprised amongst his friends, and when they turned to him in shock he just shrugged, grinned, and said, "Now _that_'s what I call entertainment."

**Edge**

Had Ikki decided to do this when Agito had just joined the team, the shark would have refused flat out and ignored him. But they were past that.

"Ready?"

The blue-haired boy nodded, an uncharacteristic grin on his face. They ran to the edge of the cliff and jumped. Their wild screams of laughter echoed off the rocks, unheard by human ears except their own. One would have thought that it was Akito at Ikki's side because of the happy smile, but the eye patch was on the right eye; this was Agito.

Neither of them knew when these little outings had started, but they didn't quite care either because they were having too much fun to care. Ikki had dragged Agito up to his special training place one day, and after a bit of coaxing, they both decided to jump off the edge and free fall before landing safely with their ATs. One jump was all it took to convince the Fang King to come back again.

They did it whenever they were stressed, before they had a big battle coming up, and even after a battle. It was just to help them relax; blow off some steam, anything to make them forget their problems, if only for a few moments. Their teammates never questioned where they went; they already knew, and they thought it was good for the two. They seemed closer now, thought they still argued and insulted each other occasionally.

They now flipped and twisted in the air, and then landed carefully before bounding back up the rocks to take another dive.

Ikki had been doing this longer, so he was very familiar with the thrill and enjoyment the jumping gave, not that the thrill was _ever_ diminished, but Agito had only been at it for a few months.

It didn't matter, though. They both knew that if they jumped off alone, the feeling would be meaningless if the other wasn't by their side. That was how much they enjoyed the other's company, how much they needed it. Agito glanced over at Ikki who grinned back. No words were spoken. No words _needed_ to be spoken. Jumping over the edge with the other was all that needed to be said.


	6. F

**Author's Note:** Miss me? Yes, I have been _very_ busy, but I'm back now. I'm going to tell you now, I completely forgot what an ABC short was supposed to be. Just a few sentences describing the word theme. So I'm going back to that for the most part…at least I'll try. I'm pretty bad at not writing a lot. Uh, as for the short "Flatulent"…don't hate me. I swear, it was a suggestion. "Frankenstein" is my mini tribute to Halloween. Companions: "Family" and "Fun".

**Family**

He had to grudgingly admit that he had one. Of course, he'd never admit it to the bastard. So when Ikki came skating by and asking what he thought to make their little "family" become closer (he was taking suggestions from everyone, because he wanted the strongest team in AT history), Agito turned his head the other way and told him to fuck off.

Surprisingly, instead of getting into a scuffle with the shark as he normally would, a sad look crept into the leader's eyes. He scuffed his skates in the dirt and said awkwardly that he was sorry for bothering him.

Agito was tempted to sneer at him, but Akito chided him. Agito gritted his teeth and forced a few words out of his mouth: "We should have more fun outings."

Ikki blinked several times before he finally grasped the idea that _Agito was giving a suggestion_, and he grinned. "Yeah. Yeah, we should!"

And he skated away trumpeting loudly that they were going to have more outings, claiming that he decided it on his own.

Agito swore that he had just condemned himself.

**Fun**

So they had their outings. And with each outing, Agito found it harder and harder to keep himself from smiling. Granted, his smile was a twisted thing, toothy and wicked, especially if the idiots got themselves into trouble and he was left on the sidelines to laugh. But he did.

All the team members had their own theories as to why the shark was so uncharacteristically happy on their little field trips.

Ikki said it was all because of his own brilliant idea to lead his team out to have fun.

Buccha insisted that he just enjoyed seeing mayhem (and he was right for the most part).

Onigiri said he did it to see more girls.

Emily suggested that the boy was seriously sick.

Yayoi offered that perhaps he just liked the chance to battle others when they were attacked (also true. There always seemed to conveniently be a team wanting to take them out).

But Kazu, who seemed to be closest to the boy during the outings, just smiled quietly and kept his theory to himself. He knew it would embarrass the boy if he said that Agito was smiling because he enjoyed being with all of them. He was having fun.

**Frantic**

"Where is she?"

Kazu pointed wordlessly to the bathroom, and the shark stormed down the hall and stopped short in front of the wooden door. He knocked softly and Yayoi said he could enter. He did so with haste.

She was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, dabbing at her leg with a washcloth. At first Agito thought her leg was painted red, but he soon saw (and smelled) that it was blood.

"Idiot," he hissed, taking the cloth from her and carefully inspecting the damage.

Yayoi laughed. "You worry too much. I'm fine. It's just a big scratch, that's all."

Agito didn't reply. He wiped away the blood.

Yayoi felt his hands trembling on her leg and she sighed. She lifted his head and gave him a reassuring smile. After a few seconds, he let out a huff and she giggled.

"Just be more careful next time."

**Flatulent**

Ikki was actually innocent when Agito roared at him for releasing such a foul stench into the air. The crow tried to escape the angry boy. As he tensed up to run, he looked to Kazu for help.

The blond looked strangely guilty.

Ikki's eyes widened, but before he could call his best friend out on it, Agito launched his first Fang.

**Figure**

No one could blame him. He had never been in a relationship before, and he was still new to giving the right answers to his girlfriend's questions.

So when Yayoi asked the dreaded question, "Does this dress make me look fat?" he had no idea how to answer it properly. He was so used to giving his true opinion that he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"From the side, no, but if you look at it straight on, your waistline looks a little chunky, and—."

He wasn't able to finish because of the death glare she gave him. Later, when the boys pressed him about his answer and he told them, they said he was lucky to be alive.

**Fussy**

"Fuck! Does it hurt?"

"Agito, I'm fine, I swear. It was just a cramp."

"No, you're not fine. Come on, we need to get you to the hospital _now_."

"But I'm not in a hurry, and—"

"Do you have all your things packed?"

"Yes, but—"

"Where's the bag? Oh, shit, weren't you supposed to call Adachi when this happened? And where the hell is Kazu? He said he'd be here, dammit! The car! We have to get to the car and—"

"Agito!"

The man froze, bag slung over his shoulder, hair uncombed, still garbed in his pajamas. "…Yes?"

"Relax." The shark protested, but she shushed him. "It doesn't hurt. Breathe deep. Kazu _is_ here. he's outside. He can call Emily for us."

Agito slowly lowered the bag and cast a glance at his wife's round stomach. "Right. Right," he repeated, sounding a bit confused. He leaned his head against the door. "I'm just a bit on edge. But if you say you're fine…"

His wife gave a sudden gasp.

He glanced back. "What's wrong?"

"My water just broke."

A beat. "Oh, fuck."

**Flower**

"So is he romantic?"

Yayoi giggled. "I suppose."

"No way, that beast? I mean, he's hot, but his temper is just…"

"Really, girls. He is. He even made me lunch."

This earned a round of squeals from her fellow female classmates, as well as a new round of questions. As she tried to answer each one, she didn't notice the topic of their discussion lingering outside the classroom door, looking more annoyed with each passing second.

Finally, he called out, "Oi! Nakayama!"

Said girl looked up, and the girls around her gasped. "Yes?"

He pursed his lips. "I need to talk with you."

Her friends giggled as she stood and walked over to her boyfriend. "What's up?"

The Storm Rider hesitated before holding out a small bouquet. He offered no explanation, and she asked no questions. She took the flowers and smiled. He glanced around; the girls spying on them quickly looked away. Satisfied, he stepped forward and kissed his girl.

"Have a nice day," he murmured against her lips. And he was gone.

When Yayoi sat back down amongst her friends, she said in a dazed voice, "As an answer to your first question: yes."

**Freedom**

He used to think that the only freedom he'd ever find was in the form of Air Treks.

He found out much later, that freedom also came in a softer, more human form by the name of Yayoi Nakayama.

**Frankenstein**

Yayoi had said that she was going as the Bride of Frankenstein for Halloween. So no one was really surprised when Agito had arrived at the costume party bash as Frankenstein.

Even though he had sworn to high heaven that he wouldn't dress up for the social event, much less show up to it.

**Future**

He liked cloud gazing with her. Sometimes, if a cloud looked like a bunch of flours, or a giant cake, or a _baby_, he found himself closing his eyes and dreaming of what awaited him in the future.

'_Just as soon as you pluck up enough courage to propose_,' Lind always reminded him.

**Food**

He admitted grudgingly that it tasted delicious.

His girlfriend turned back to the stove with a satisfied smile as the rest of Kogarasumaru "aww-ed". To save face, he added, "Well, I suppose anything will taste good to a person who's half-starved."

He never saw the frying pan coming.


	7. G

**Author's Note:**Right. Um…sorry for the wait. This is kinda short, but deal with it. I keep on forgetting that these things are supposed to be _one_ sentence, but…anyway, I'm trying to limit myself more. So don't blame me if these chapters get _really_ short. I fear that these guys are getting to OOC. Especially Agito. Sorry if they do.

**Grim**

His future had been so dark, so clouded. It had been grim, and it had been empty, void of all hope and a chance of salvation.

And then Yayoi had broken through the darkness and pulled him into the sky.

"This is where you belong, Agito. With the rest of us."

"…Sharks can't fly."

A laugh. "You've got wings, just like us. We all fly. Trust me. Ikki won't like you stay wallowing around in your little well. And anyway, even if you're not a bird, just think of the ocean as your sky. Then you'll see that you _can_ fly."

A shrug. "Fuck. You're all fucking crazy."

A slender hand stretched out. "Crazy is better than looking so grim all the time, don't you think?"

After a moment of consideration, the Fang King took his Tuner's hand and was pulled into the sky.

**Guess**

"Just take a guess."

The shark scowled as he watched the rest of the team run through their warm up drills before they started racing each other. "Shit, this is stupid. I don't know."

Yayoi sighed and held up a can of Boss coffee. "C'mon, Agito. Think. What is the thing I want the most out of this relationship?"

Agito sighed wearily. "Are you going through one of your emotionally unstable moments?" He held up his hands in defense when the girl glared. "Just asking."

Yayoi prodded, "It has to do with happiness."

The boy's shoulders went up and down as he inspected the serrated edges of his ATs. "You want to be happy?"

Yayoi pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Then do you want _me_ to be happy?"

Her lips twisted and she tilted her head from side to side in consideration. "Not…exactly."

"Then what, damnit!" Agito exclaimed.

The corners of Yayoi's mouth drooped and she tossed the can at him. He caught it with a frown and turned to skate away.

"I want to be happy _with_ you, stupid."

Agito heard the whisper and paused. Then, with a heavy sigh, he went to her and pressed a small kiss at the corner of her mouth. She looked surprised, but then smiled and leaned into him.

**Golden**

These were their years as kids. Their years when the world didn't want to clip their wings or hinder them from enjoying the air. These were their years of freedom, their years of sun-kissed skin and bright eyes that saw the world from a different perspective. Of hopes, dreams, life, and love.

These were their golden years, and they fervently prayed that they would last.

**Giants**

Yayoi always worried when he went to fight. Of course, that's why she pushed herself to be his Tuner because she couldn't trust anyone else to fix him back up, except perhaps Akito and Lind.

But that didn't change the fact that when he went to face the giants of the AT world, she felt fearful. She didn't want to lose him.

But he always told her that giants were stupid creatures and often "fell on their asses, and hard". So that had reassured her.

Still…she couldn't help that wonder that if Agito continued to gain power, grow stronger, win more battles…would he become a giant of the AT world too?

**Grin**

Lind often wondered why the girl would ever want to date his brother. He never smiled anyway.

He got his answer a while later.

He woke up from a nap one day and heard laughter coming from their body. He first wondered if Akito was in control, but he realized that the laughter was deeper, stronger. And when he peeked out in curiosity, he saw Yayoi giggling about something, cheeks red, tears in her eyes. And he could _feel_ in their body that the one in control was smiling. Grinning.

Lind went to back to sleep. Perhaps Agito did know how to be happy.

But he still didn't understand why the girl would want to date his brother.

**Game**

His heart felt like it was being stabbed every time he saw her. She had been his _only_ weakness, and just that one weakness had proven to be his downfall.

She had moved on. He had expected this; she was a Tuner. But he had thought—no, he had dared to _hope_—that she would still love him.

She didn't.

It was all just a game, and she always won. And he only had to lose once.

**God**

He didn't know if one existed. He never really dwelt on the thought that much. His steady hands gently lay the body down on the concrete. He had stopped trembling long ago. He was the Fang King. He had to be strong. For both of them.

When he looked up at the enemy, he wasn't sure if he was glaring the other down in hatred, or frowning because he was lost as to what to do.

But as he stood, he prayed to whatever higher power was listening to him that when he was done destroying this _bastard_, Yayoi's eyes would open.

**Gamble**

It was the worst thing Onigiri could have done. When he got to school, just for kicks, he challenged Kazu to a poker game. He was feeling pretty confident; he had gotten a hot girlfriend yesterday, won a raffle when he walked into the arcade, and, as though the universe just wanted to make him smile, he found fifty-thousand yen lying in the street.

So when he came to school the next morning with extra cash in his pocket, he decided, _Why not go for the gold?_

He ended up losing. Badly.

The blond leaned back in his chair and grinned at the other students. "Who's next?"

* * *

It was the most idiotic action Kazu could have done in his life. He shouldn't have decided to play a game of poker with Ikki. The bastard had sheer luck on his side and his hand of cards easily destroyed the jet.

As Kazu mourned the loss of his winnings, Ikki cackled loudly and crowed, "Next sucker, step right up!"

* * *

It was the stupidest thing Ikki could have done in his life (though his companions begged to differ). He should have walked away when he had the chance. After all, playing poker against a shark with an incredible poker face was not wise. Any luck the crow seemed to have had disappeared as soon as Agito sat down.

"Damnit," Ikki howled as he slammed down his crappy hand and stalking away.

Agito sneered at the retreating figure and turned his golden eyes around the room. "C'mon then. I'll rip you all apart."

True to his words, every opponent that tried to face him was rendered broke. Unfortunately, his title as champion wasn't meant to last.

* * *

It was the most foolish thing Agito could have done in his life. He agreed to play against Yayoi.

He warned her, "I won't go easy on you just because we're dating."

A smirk graced his girlfriend's face. "Bring it on, minnow."

Their spectators gasped, and Agito slapped down eight-thousand yen with a growl. "Fuck."

Yayoi glanced back at Emily, one of the few who hadn't gone up against the Fang King. "Spot me."

Emily grinned and slapped the amount of money into her friend's hand. "Kick his ass."

The King and his Tuner battled briefly, and the King was astounded when Yayoi pulled out a royal flush. He stared at her hand blankly for a moment, then accused, "You cheated!"

"As if," the girl sniffed, flipping her dark hair over her shoulders. Then she grinned slyly and purred, "Of course, we could always go two out of three…"

The money was already on the table.

Many frustrating rounds later (he even had to start pulling money from his own wallet to stay in the game), Agito glared venomously at her and slowly stood. Through gritted teeth, he ground out, "I resign."

A loud cheer rose up from the crowd surrounding them as Yayoi laughed aloud and paid Emily back. Then she turned to Agito, who had thrown open the window and looked like he was going to leave. "Hey! Wanajima!"

A narrowed golden eye met hers. "What?"

"You promised me a dinner date tonight, remember?"

The shark shrugged.

Yayoi's smile softened. "It's my treat."

Agito scowled, but his stiff form relaxed and he came back over and reluctantly pressed a quickly kiss to her cheek. "Congratulations on your victory."

Later that night, they went to a rather expensive restaurant. And team Kogarasumaru tagged along.

**Gucci**

When Ikki walked in holding the bag, his teammates stared at him as though he had lost his mind…and perhaps his masculinity.

Being his best friend, Kazu spoke first, worried for his health. "Hey, Ikki…what're you doing with that girly thing?"

Ikki rounded on him, eyebrow raised, a ridiculously proud look in his eyes. "What're you talking about? This is a totally macho man-bag!"

"Bro, that's a Gucci purse."

Silence fell throughout the room as Kogarasumaru's team leader rounded on the shark who had spoken. Then he looked down at the bag he held and inspected the label. Red suddenly flooded his cheeks and he snapped embarrassedly at the boy, "No way! The guy I bought it from told me it was one of those fancy European handbags those guys walk around with…in Europe…"

Agito snorted. "Then the guys who walk around with them in Europe are gay. Like you."

The boys of the team had to hold their leader back as he suddenly lunged for Agito, who cackled and turned away to the game of poker he was playing with Emily and Yayoi.

As Ikki was dragged from the room, Yayoi looked up from her cards and fixed her eyes on Agito. The other scowled. "What?"

"Well…" The girl tilted her head slightly. "Just a question. How did you know it was a Gucci?"


	8. H

**Author's Note:** Okay, did anyone else's brain short-circuit when they found out that Kaito was the Wanajima brothers' _dad_? I mean, seriously? I thought the surprises were over when Lind turned up, but _nooo_, I guess not. M'kay, I'm done ranting. Companions: "Heaven", "Hell"; "Him", "Her". In "Hallway", the son's name was a suggestion from geckogal077, so I thank her very much. Wow, this chapter is long. Sorry 'bout that. And I apologize if Agito seems OOC in any of these, especially, "Happiness". No, really. Sorry.

**Hold**

So here they were, sitting awkwardly, face to face.

Kaito took one look at Agito, snorted, and looked quickly away. Anyone else could have mistaken the gesture out of disgust, but the younger boy knew it was out of sheer embarrassment. He would have done the same.

Agito cleared his throat and spoke softly. "So…"

Kaito jerked, startled. "What?"

"When did you plan on telling me and Akito? That you're our…da—"

"Never." The reply was harsh, blunt, and it made the other flinch. "You were better off not knowing. Trust me." There was silence. "Is that all you wanted to ask?"

"…Yeah." Agito rose from his chair.

The silver-haired man groaned inwardly when he saw utter dejection flash across the boy's face; it was only for a fraction of a second before the familiar mask of steel covered his guise. Kaito swallowed. This was his…son. As soon as Agito walked out of this room, he was certain they would never touch upon the subject again.

"Wait."

The shark paused and looked warily at him. "What?"

Kaito motioned for him to come to him, and he did so. He was surprised when the man stood and quickly wrapped his arms around him. The boy could already feel a blush sprouting on his cheeks. "Damn it, you old man, what the hell are you doing?"

The gator muttered, "I've always been careful to hold you like a brother. And I'll keep it that way. But just this once…" His grip tightened. "…I want to hold you like a son. As soon as we leave, we'll be brothers again. But just this once…"

Agito made a noise in the back of his throat; whether it was out of irritation or understanding, the man couldn't tell. But when he felt the thin arms slowly wrap around his waist, he smiled into the blue hair.

"Dad." The word was spoken just so that Agito could know that this man before him truly was his father. It was his reassurance. When he pulled back and rubbed his eyes, he said, "You don't tell anyone about anything that just happened, got it?"

His _father_ grinned like a crocodile. "Of course not. It would ruin both of our reputations."

**Here**

He would sometimes wake up to her piercing scream of terror in the middle of the night. She usually only had a nightmare after he recovered from being on the brink of death from a battle. She would dream about the enemy he had faced, and she would wake up screaming. He was used to it, and would comfort her every time, telling her that the enemy was gone, that no one was after her, that she was safe.

So when he made the mistake of going to the bathroom in the middle of the night after a battle, he wasn't prepared.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, he carefully listened to make sure his wife was still asleep. He froze when he heard the sheets rustle softly. Then the mattress squeaked loudly, as though the person on it jerked suddenly. More rustling, this time louder, frantic.

Then a heart-wrenching wail.

Pure sadness emanated from that mouth, and it caused Agito to be rooted to the spot he stood. He had never heard her make that noise, and quite frankly, it _scared_ him more than her usual fearful screams.

The wail died into sobs. Agito still didn't move, unsure as to what he should do. Then the sobs abruptly stopped. Agito took this opportunity to quickly enter their bedroom and see what was wrong.

Yayoi just lay there, staring at the ceiling. Tears flowed down her cheeks, glistening in the moonlight that filtered in from their window. Agito was chilled to the core when he saw how empty and lost her brown eyes looked.

Hesitantly, he reached out and touched her arm. "Yayoi…?"

Her head jerked and he found himself staring at her mournful face. For a few moments, it seemed like she didn't see him at all. Then her eyes slowly widened, as though realizing that he was here, and her mouth opened, a wordless cry stuck in her throat.

_You're still here_.

That was what her face said, and Agito reached down and hugged her tightly. She clung to him without a sound, and he murmured reassurances in her ear, rocking her to calm her down.

"Shh, shh, it's alright. I'm still here for you. I'm not going anywhere."

_I'm still here._

**Heaven**

She could see her friends around her and accepted that she was dead. There was no way that they could have survived when the stadium had come crashing down on them.

They were all in a bright place, a stone street beneath their feet, and they felt warm and young and better than ever. Ikki looked around and grinned. "Sweet."

Kazu was freaking out a bit and Emily was trying to calm him. Akito was staring in shock at Lind, who mirrored his expression, before snatching his younger brother up in a hug. They laughed together.

Yayoi looked at Buccha, who didn't appear surprised at all, and mouthed, "_Heaven?_"

He grinned, shrugged. "Beats me. But where's Agito?"

Ikki snorted. "Knowing that stubborn shark, he probably hasn't died yet. He's fighting with all his strength to live." His eyes grew grim. "He knows that he might not get to go with us."

Yayoi frowned. "What? Of course he will. He's changed. He's a good person."

"But he's…done a lot of bad stuff," Onigiri said weakly, though he didn't want to admit it. "Whoever runs this place…may not accept him. I'm surprised that I even got to come with you guys."

Yayoi looked at the clouds around them with panic, then took off. "I won't allow that!"

Emily looked at their leader. "Should we let her go? We don't know what's gonna happen."

Ikki tilted his head and smiled. "Yeah, but I think it'll be alright. She'll make it work. She won't let that bastard go, even in death."

**Hell**

She had died in his arms. He had watched her die in his arms. And he had willingly followed suit ten minutes later after clutching her body to his, crying. And now he was dead, standing at the crossroads. The cobblestone pathway led up to a golden kingdom; the stone steps led down to a place that he knew he belonged.

His eyes narrowed when he caught sight of two beings clothed in white, their wings emitting golden rays of light. One opened his mouth to speak, but Agito scowled and snapped, "I know where I'm going. I don't need any help."

The being, the angel, slowly closed his mouth and nodded. Agito turned and put his foot on the first dark step.

"_NO!_"

Three heads swiveled towards the girl who raced down the cobblestone pathway, tears in her eyes. Agito instantly ran for her and swept her up in his arms, kissing her furiously. "Yayoi, please," he said as she frantically wiped the tears from her eyes. "You have to let me go. I knew that this was coming."

"No, _no_," the girl insisted desperately. She turned to the angels. "There has to be another way! Why can't he come with us? He's changed, I swear it!"

One spoke quietly. "Our Master has seen this boy's life. He is steeped in blood. This boy knows this too, and is willing to accept punishment."

"Then let me take his place!"

Agito hissed and gripped her arms, shaking her. "Don't you _dare_!" he snarled furiously. "I could never forgive myself if I let you go down there."

The second angel said to Agito, "She has offered to bear your burden, young one. Yet you refuse?"

"Of course," he snapped. "I won't let someone else pay for my crimes."

Yayoi sniffled quietly and clutched his shoulders. "Then let me go with you."

"_No_," Agito growled.

"You can't stop me," she hissed, her nails digging into his skin. "I will go with you, whether you want me there or not. I will not spend an eternity without you."

The two angels glanced at each other, as though having a silent conversation. A sharp _coo_ made them all look up and see a dove descend. It landed on the first angel's arm and trilled softly. Both ethereal beings nodded after a moment and turned to the couple.

"It would seem that you are to be pardoned," the second angel said with a gently smile. "I must congratulate you. Few have been given such an opportunity."

Agito, wide-eyed, looked at Yayoi, before managing a weak smile. "Well, what do you know?"

His love laughed a bit, before choking up, and new tears spilled over her cheeks. The angels lifted their majestic wings and ascended, leaving the two to revel in the mutual feeling of relief. When Yayoi calmed, she asked, "Um…I guess we should get back to the others."

Agito hummed in agreement and helped her up. "Please," he said when they started down the pathway. "Don't ever offer to go to hell for me again. Ever."

Yayoi stopped to drag him forward into a deep kiss. When she pulled back, she smiled and said, "I don't think that's going to be a problem anymore."

**Him**

_Look at him. Standing there, smiling at me, all calm and collected. I bet he isn't even rattled._

Yayoi managed a smile as she put one foot in front of the other, clutching her father's arm as he walked her down the aisle. It frustrated her to no end that her love could always seem to keep a level head; whereas she was panicking at the moment.

_Oh, I hope I don't screw up. Please don't let me screw up!_

She kissed her father's cheek as he let her go, and she went up to take her place beside her husband-to-be.

As the ceremony wore on and wound down to the closing statements, she could only think of him.

_Why does he always look like that? Full of confidence like he's always right. Well…maybe he's calm because he believes he's making the right decision. Marrying me?_

She managed to relax at this thought. Agito was always confident in his decisions. If he was confident about this, which was bound to be the biggest decision of his life, then she was alright with it too.

So, with eyes shining, when asked, she turned to Agito and said confidently, "I do."

**Her**

_Look at her. Walking down the aisle, looking so nervous. She looks like she's ready to bolt. Gah!_

Agito didn't miss the brief annoyance that passed over her face when she finally looked him in the eye. _She probably thinks I'm all calm. Fuck, I'm not! Don't look at me like that!_

He was far from calm. He always kept a calm exterior. It was pure habit. But he wasn't feeling that way at all. He was about to make a huge decision, bigger than any battle plans he had made before. This was all new to him. He felt a bit more at ease when she came to stand next to him. Just a bit.

He still couldn't help but wonder: _Is she making the right decision marrying me?_

The ceremony continued without a problem, and when it came close to the time to say those two binding words, Agito noticed a change in Yayoi. She seemed to stand taller now, and there was a sparkle of assurance in her eyes.

Agito could understand her thoughts perfectly. She believed that he was the right one for her. And he now knew without a doubt that he felt the same about her.

So, when asked, he locked his eyes on Yayoi and said with the utmost confidence, "I do."

**Home**

Home is where the heart is.

Akito had never dwelt much on the saying. He hadn't needed to. His home was with his family, and his team.

He understood the phrase much later though. His brother, Agito, had given his heart to Yayoi. And when Yayoi disappeared, his heart went with her.

Akito had never seen his brother seem so empty in his entire life.

And when Yayoi was found and her kidnappers vanquished (Ikki didn't take kindly to those who took away his precious friends), Agito's heart was returned.

Akito understood the phrase now. He understood it perfectly.

**Hallway**

He hated it. The hallway. The white, sterile corridor which was useful for only two things: getting a person from one end of the building to the other, and for amplifying pained screams and making it echo in his ears.

Yes, he hated it _so damn much._

Ikki glanced at him. "You sure you don't want to go in there?"

Agito shot a glare at him, but there was no trace of sarcasm in the crow's voice. His eyes went to the floor. "Fuck, no," he murmured miserably. "I don't think I could handle it. After all, it went _so well_ last time."

Now Ikki laughed. "Riiight."

Agito would have told him to fuck off, but at that moment his son, Narumi, came running up to him. "Dad! Look! Uncle Buccha gave me lots of candy. Want some?"

Agito smiled and took the offered Snickers bar. He scowled when Ikki snickered, "Yeah, Daddy. Better keep your strength up. You're looking kinda pale."

Agito jerked his thumb at the crow. "Sic 'im."

Itsuki shrieked as the little shark attacked him. Agito watched the scene smugly. Ah, that boy most definitely took after him.

_'I bet you're so proud of your son,'_ Lind commented.

_'No, really, dipshit?'_ Agito snapped. Then he flinched when another shriek echoed through the hallway.

_'You should probably go in there,'_ Akito stated. Agito shook his head and scarfed down the candy bar, suddenly feeling drained.

"Hey, Agito," Ikki whined. He had finally managed to separate the five-year-old from his body and now had him pinned to the clean floor. "Seriously, man. You should go in there. She needs you."

Agito glanced at the doors at the end of the corridor and said nothing. Then he sighed resignedly and stood. "Fuck," he muttered. "Fine! I'll go. But if she tears my head off and starts screaming at me like last time, I'll be blaming you." Ikki shrugged, and Agito said, "Narumi, I know you can do better than that."

"Buh he'th got meh pinned," Narumi replied with his mouth smushed against the floor.

"Ask Uncle Kazu for help then."

Arms flailing, the little boy wailed the blond's name. A second later, a blur came jetting around the corner and knocked Ikki off the boy. Kazu picked Narumi up and dusted him off. "What's up? Need some help?"

The blue-haired kid nodded enthusiastically and they turned their eyes to the crow with predatory smiles; Ikki smartly decided to bolt for the nearest exit. They gave chase.

Alone in the hallway now, Agito turned to the doors at the far end and strode towards them.

_Alright, Yayoi. I'm doing this because I love you. But if you break my hand like last time, I'm going to train this kid to be just like me too._

* * *

Unfortunately, his hand _was_ broken again (the woman had a strong grip, dammit); Yayoi gave birth to a girl. True to his promise, Agito raised her to be a little menace. Just like her father.

**Hungry**

He loved these moments.

Coming home late at night, quietly removing his ATs and wandering into the kitchen where the smell of warm food enticed him. Finding his wife, asleep at the kitchen table, the latest AT magazine beneath her head.

He sat down beside her with a smirk and sniffed the food that was still hot on the table. She had gotten used to preparing dinner later than usual so that it would stay warm for him.

Hesitantly, he reached out and tucked a few locks of her hair behind her ear. She stirred and cracked an eye. "…Welcome home."

He smiled gently and tugged the bowl of food his way. "You hungry? I'm guessing you didn't eat."

She shrugged sleepily and reached out and plucked a piece of meat from his dish. "You guess correctly." She popped it in her mouth and chewed. "Mmm, I'm good."

Agito laughed and went to get more food.

**Habit**

He had taken it upon himself to "forgetting" her name. Ever since he had seen how irritated she would become when he would ask "Who are you?", he just had to keep doing it. He liked it. And it eventually just grew into a habit.

At school one day, as he entered the building, he saw her standing in the doorway of a classroom. He walked over to her, planning to say, "Hey, what's-your-face. Our classroom's down the hall." It would just be some light teasing in the morning. But when he got close enough, he saw that she was talking to someone. A _boy_. Daisuke Suzuki, to be exact. One of the more popular kids, like the members of Kogarasumaru. He was on the track team with her.

And it pissed Agito off.

He strode over and shouted, "Hey!"

Yayoi stopped laughing and turned, raising a brow. "Hm?"

He knew he'd regret this. He grabbed her hand. "C'mon, Yayoi. We've got to get to class." Apparently his action was enough to shock her in to walking with him.

"Hey, Nakayama!"

"Yeah?" The girl turned, her hand momentarily slipping out of the shark's grasp. Agito scowled. Who did that piece of shit think he was, calling her by name?

"Wanna have lunch together today?"

Oh, that was it. Agito stepped forward. "She's busy."

Suzuki smiled a little disbelievingly. "Really? With what?"

"We've got a strategy meeting today. She needs to be there. I don't know who you think you are, but you'll have to save your little lunch date for some other day." It was true that they were going to have a strategy meeting, but she didn't really have to be there, and he really didn't want to say that. He grabbed the girl's hand again and muttered, "Let's _go_, Yayoi."

And they left; Agito missed the knowing smirk that graced Suzuki's face.

Agito bit his lip as he tugged his Tuner to the classroom, and he was so lost in thought that he missed Yayoi calling his name the first few times.

"Agito!"

He jerked and looked back at her. "Huh?" He realized he still held her hand, and quickly jerked away. He muttered a quick sorry and entered their classroom without looking back.

Yayoi didn't stop staring at him during the entire period, and he ignored her as best as he could. When lunch came, he tried to leave by going out the window, just to avoid her, but she managed to catch his wrist. He sighed and turned slowly, waiting to see the annoyance on her face, ready to say that he didn't have to explain shit to her and that team matters were more important than lunch with some guy.

He saw a smile instead.

"W-what?" he stammered. He hated blushing, but apparently it was inevitable.

The girl grinned shyly. "So you finally remember my name?"

"What're you talking about?" Agito snapped. Then he blinked. _Oh…oh._ Then he gave a small shrug and managed a small smile.

Some habits needed to be broken.

**Happiness**

"Make a list," Kazu had said.

* * *

They had gotten a beach house from an AT match that they had won against a very rich man. And it was the best prize they could have ever gotten. They had already been there for two days and they still loved it. This was the third day, and they had just gotten back from a day at the beach.

They were all going to grab some food to throw on the barbecue, and Agito had gone to the porch. He slumped down onto the floor and finally let out the small chuckle of laughter he had been keeping in for a while. It had been…fun. And he wanted to remember it. Which was unusual for someone like him, but he didn't care.

So Kazu, after easily guessing his thoughts (next to Yayoi, Kazu was the only one who could read his thoughts easily, as well as talk to him without pissing him off), had suggested that he made a list of all the fun things they had done. "Write what makes you happy."

"A lot of things make me happy."

"Fine. Then what is your definition of happiness?" And that had been what he decided to write about.

* * *

Agito pulled out the pen and paper he had snatched from the kitchen and lay down on his stomach, reveling in the feel of the cool wood beneath his bare abdomen. The pen clicked and he started writing.

_**Happiness Is:**_

_1) Winning a match against a rich team with an idiot leader and getting a beach house out of it._

_2) Slapping Buccha and listening to him scream because he has a huge sunburn._

_3) Laughing at Adachi's failed flirting attempts with the bean sprout._

_4) Dunking Onigiri and making him swallow a gallon of salt water because he threw fucking sea cucumbers at me. Idiot._

_5) Almost drowning Ikki._

_6) Beating Kazu in a race. Damn straight._

He decided that since no one would ever see this list, and he'd probably burn it later, he'd go all out and write more personal things.

_7) Getting to spend some time with Nakayama without the perverts of the team trying to sneak a peek._

_8) Smashing watermelons._

_9) Hearing Akito laugh._

He could hear his brother whisper a _'thank you'_ in his mind, and he smiled.

_10) Beating Ikki at surfing. Punk-ass crow. You should know better than to challenge me._

_11) Building a—_

He hesitated at writing the next sentence. He _was_ going to burn this as soon as he was done. He swore it.

_11) Building a sandcastle with Yayoi, but _only_ because it made her happy._

_12) Eating the best steak I've ever had in my life. Kaito always was a shitty cook, and Akira was worse; Buccha's food beats theirs by a mile._

_13) Getting a tan. I've never had one before._

_14) Seeing Yayoi's swimsuit. Damn._

_15) Kicking the pig and the crow in the ass for looking at said swimsuit. I swear, if they eye my girl one more time, I'll kill them._

_16) Getting buried in the sand. Kazu built a sand sculpture on me._

_17) Letting Lind out to play so that he could smile again._

Lind chuckled in their shared mind. The "play" referred to a group of idiot Riders who had just so happened to wander past, notice them, and challenge them. They had their asses handed to them.

_18) Walking down the beach with Yayoi._

_19) Seeing the sunset with Yayoi._

_20) Swimming with her._

_21) Stealing a kiss from her._

Oh, he would _definitely _burn this later. After a moment of looking over what he had written, he kept going.

_22) Winning an AT battle against the crow because he was stupid enough to challenge me._

_23) Cliff diving. Best activity I've ever done. It was so…_

And the list went on.

* * *

Sometime later, he was found sleeping there. He had dozed off

"Agito!" Yayoi shook him awake. "Come on! They're gonna light them soon."

Agito was dragged down to the beach by his girlfriend, and all sleep vanished when the first stream of light shot up to the sky. It exploded and red sparkles rained down. He could hear his team hooting and cheering, and the infectious giddy feeling he usually had when they all did something fun spread in his chest. He glanced at Yayoi, and she looked at him and grinned.

"You seem happy," she commented, grinning.

He realized that he was smiling, and for once he didn't care. This was happiness. He shrugged and turned his eyes to the designs that bloomed in the sky.

"I suppose you're going to add this moment to that list?"

He jerked and locked his golden eye on her. "You, you—!"

"I saw it," she confirmed, shrugging. "I thought it was awesome. I'll have to make one too." She tilted her head, brown hair sliding over her shoulder. "But you're going to add this moment, right?"

Agito was still in shock; that list was an embarrassment to him! And she had read it? Where did he put it? He shoved his hand into his pocket and was reassured when he felt the paper crinkle. Well, as long as no one else saw it. "Fuck, yeah," he finally said, tugging her close. "This'll definitely get written down."

He kissed her, and made a mental note about what he would add.

_51) Watching the sky burn with Yayoi. Definitely a definition of happiness._

* * *

And as it turned out, he didn't end up destroying the list afterwards. In fact, he continued it.


End file.
